The black car stopped in front of a mansion that looked nothing like anything Alya had ever seen before.
Tall iron gates opened automatically, revealing a long driveway lined with silent trees and lights that glowed like stars along the ground. The rain had stopped, but the air still smelled like thunder and wet earth.
Inside the car, Alya sat stiffly, clutching her small handbag as if it were a shield.
Across from her, Leonard Arjuna sat with the same calm, unreadable face — like someone who was used to silence and control. He hadn't spoken a single word since they left the law firm.
"This is your new home," he finally said as the car stopped.
"Home?" Alya repeated softly, her voice uncertain.
"For the next twelve months, yes."
Her chest tightened.
One year. That was what she had signed for.
One year to live as the wife of a stranger.
When she stepped out of the car, the mansion loomed over her like something out of a dream — or a nightmare. White marble, endless windows, quiet air. Everything looked too perfect, too clean, too… empty.
A woman in her fifties greeted them at the door, bowing slightly.
"Welcome, Madam. I'm Mrs. Ratna, the head housekeeper."
"Madam?" Alya blinked, startled.
Leonard cut in, his tone sharp but polite. "She will need guidance. Treat her accordingly."
Alya could feel the older woman's eyes scanning her from head to toe — her plain dress, her scuffed shoes, her awkward posture. She didn't belong here, and everyone knew it.
When Leonard turned to go upstairs, Alya hesitated.
"Wait where should I stay?"
He pointed toward the corridor on the left.
"Your room is next to mine. But you are not to enter my room under any circumstances. Ever."
"I wasn't planning to," she muttered under her breath.
For the first time, he glanced back at her, and there was something sharp in his eyes — not anger, not exactly — but something that felt like warning.
Hours passed, and the house grew quiet. Alya unpacked her small suitcase into a closet that looked bigger than her old kitchen.
The silence pressed against her ears until she finally lay down on the bed, staring at the chandelier that shimmered above her like a glass web.
But then a faint sound.
Something metallic.
Like a door unlocking.
She sat up.
The sound came again. From the hallway.
Barefoot, Alya crept toward the noise. The corridor lights flickered faintly, casting long shadows against the walls. She followed the sound until she reached a door —one that wasn't on the floor plan Mrs. Ratna had shown her earlier.
Her hand trembled as she touched the cold doorknob.
Then a voice spoke behind her low, deep, and dangerously close.
"Who told you to come here?"
Alya froze.
Leonard stood only a few steps away, his face half-hidden in shadow.
But before she could answer, the door in front of her suddenly creaked open on its own, revealing a dimly lit room inside.
And what Alya saw beyond that door… made her blood turn cold.
To be continued…